John s



(No Modl.)

- J. S. BOYD.

BAG. No. 374,037.y Patented Nv. 29, 1887.

WITJVESSES N. PETERS, Pbnm'umagmpher. wnhinglon, D. C.

d UNITED STATES lPATENT Ormea.

'JOHN S. BOYD, OFYBALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

BAG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,037, dated November29, 1887.

Application filed April 11, 1887. Serial No. 231,377. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom z' may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN S. BOYD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, havefinvented certain-new and useful Improvements in Bags,ot which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanyingdrawings..

y.This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in bags;and it is especially designed as an improvement on the bags which areordinarily used for the purpose of shipping flour from the millers tothe trade or less slow, they take a knife with them and cut a gash inthe side of the bag or punch a holein the sack with the gouge, whichthey then insert and obtain their sample, and then go to the neXt bag,where they repeat the same operation. The cut in the bag, it is needlessto say, considerably impairs its Value; but it can be readily understoodthat where there are one thousand or morebags to inspect, the labor ofcarefully opening and rescwing each one is considerable and consumes agreat deal of time.

The design of my invention is to make a bag having an aperture on oneside'covered wit-h a Hap, so that the [lap can be thrown back and thesample taken through the aperture, which Operation can be done rapidlyand by unskilled labor, and the inspector can then come along and obtainhis sample. This might at first sight seem as slow and tedious as theold way; but, as hereinafter explained, it will be seen that with myimproved bag it is quite an improvement on the old method, and at thesame time the bag is left in as good condition as it was at rst.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andon which the same letters ot' reference indicate the same orcorresponding features, Figure l represents a side elevation of myimproved bag, showing the fiap fastened. Fig. 2 is a similar viewshowing the flap thrown back and a portion ofthe guard-band broken away,and Fig. 3 is a detail View of my improved buckle.

The letter A designates a bag of the usual or any approved constructionand of whatever size or shape may be desired or is customary in themarket. To the upper portion thereof and near one side is securely sewedor otherwise fastened a flap, B, terminating at one end in a tongue, C,though not necessarily so, for the iap and tongue may all be ot' thesame size, in which case the buckle is made larger.

At the point D, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the bag is provided with anaperture of such size and shape as to easily and readily admit of theentrance of the gouge which the inspector uses, the said aperture beingstitched around its edges, so as to prevent fraying; or it may beprotected by an eyelet.

The guard-band E is attached to the bag directly on either side of theaperture, and extends across and over the flap B. This band serves twopurposes-first, it' holds the flap firmly pressed against the aperture,so that the flour will not waste out, and, secondly, it prevents thesides of the iiap from sagging, so that nothing will belikelyl to catchin between the flap and the bag and tear off the former.

The buckle shown in Fig. 3 differs from those ordinarily in use, in thefact that the `normal tendency of its tongue is to ily away from itsseat, instead of keeping its seat, and is fully described and explainedin an application filed by me of even date herewith, Serial No. 234,378,so that I need not further describe it in this place.

Now, we will suppose a bag of flour to have arrived at thecommission-house, the same appearing as it does in Fig. 1. The employgoes to the bag and with his right hand pulls back the flap. The tongueofthe buckle immediately iiies back, and at the same moment that he ispulling back the flap with his right hand he also insertsA theindex-iinger of his left hand between the flap and the bag at the pointF, and when the tongue flies back pulls upon the flap and draws it outfrom under the guard, so that it assumes the position shown in Fig. 2.lt will be observed that, owing to the construction of the buckle, thisoperation can be done iu less than a second. Afterward the inspectorcomes along and with his left hand pulls the guard-band E to one sideand with his other hand inserts the gouge and obtains his sample offlour, after which he quickly rebuekles the flap, and the bag is intactand ready for rcshipment, whereas at present the rents must be sewed up,which operation consumes no little time. It is to be observed that theforward bar,G, of the buckle is depressed, so that when the prong is iuoperative position the teeth thereof will be in a plane below thesurface proper of the buckle and will not be liable to catch inanything.

The buckle may be attached to the bag in any desired manner, and I haveshown itheld in a loop of cloth which is stitched to the bag. By myinvention the same bag can be used over and over again, whereas, as itis now, the bags being impaired in value by the cut made, are usuallysold at reduced rates to grain merchants, who use them for packing feed,Src.

rlhe kind of bag or the shape or size of the flap may be changed atpleasure without departing from the spirit of my invention, the

essential principle of which is the providing the side of the bag withau opening and with an easilyremovable flap to cover the said opening.-

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is*- l. The combination, with a bagprovided with a mouth and having au inspection-aperture, of a flap tocover said aperture and means to secure the flap.

2. The combination, with a bag having a mouth and provided with aninspection-aperture, of a cover for said aperture.

3. The combination, with a bag having an aperture in one side thereof, a'flap to cover the same, and means to secure the Hap, of a guard-bandextending over the flap and constructed to hold the same fromdisplacement.

In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHiT S. BOYD.

Titnessesz XV. I-I. H. RALEIGH, HENRY C. THOMAS.

